I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 66

The Beginning of an Empire

The meeting of the Independence faction concluded in a more amicable atmosphere than expected.

Thanks to the firm assurances from Adams and Jefferson, the Independence faction accepted me without suspicion.

Adams’s chillingly vivid description of the British army’s massacre, which he had witnessed on his way, further boosted their unity.

“We must never live as slaves to Britain!”

This one line from Adams, filled with a sense of determination, received the biggest applause of the day.

The fact that they could expect support from France was also a factor that allowed them to look forward to a hopeful future.

Personally, it was a meaningful occasion as I got to see most of the key figures of the American Revolutionary War.

If there was any disappointment, it was not seeing figures like Alexander Hamilton or Benjamin Franklin.

Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, was the same age as me, so he hadn’t even entered politics yet, and Franklin was in England, so it couldn’t be helped.

I did greet John Adams, who would become the second president after Washington, but we didn’t have a deep conversation.

This was because Samuel Adams and Jefferson took turns hovering around me, keeping John in check.

Thanks to this, I could clearly see that there were seeds of conflict inherent within the seemingly tight-knit Independence faction.

After that, I diligently continued my information-gathering activities, disguised as sightseeing, traveling throughout the 13 colonies.

As I continued to do so, I realized that coming with Marie was truly a good choice.

There were several times when I would have been suspected if she hadn’t been there.

However, acting as a devoted husband traveling with his lovely wife naturally dispelled most suspicions.

Marie expressed her regret that she had to be careful about conceiving a child due to the return schedule, but this couldn’t be helped.

If she were to conceive on the way back, she absolutely shouldn’t board a ship until she reached a stable period.

Even if it were a stable period, there was no way a month-long voyage with a child in her womb would be good for the mother.

Even if she said it was okay, I would be too anxious to allow it.

Anyway, after smoothly finishing the investigation and building connections, the year changed, and the day of our return approached.

Adams and Jefferson, who had built a certain level of friendship with us over the long time we spent together, came to the harbor to see us off.

“When you return to France, please be sure to convey what happened here to the royal family.”

“We trust in the Count and will make all the preparations we can.”

“Leave it to me. But what’s more important than France’s will is to firmly unite the power of the colonies. I will be eagerly awaiting your achievements across the Atlantic.”

“Yes. The next time you see this place, it will be very different from what it is now.”

It was at that moment, as we were about to have a touching farewell.

“Uwaaaaaaa!”

A sudden shout near the harbor naturally turned our attention.

“It’s a fight, a fight!”

“What is it, a group brawl?”

“No, not a group, but one person is beating up several people?”

Judging by the direction, it was the area where Marie had gone to take one last look.

Deon was with her, and since it wasn’t far, I had said that escorts weren’t necessary, so I was slightly worried.

As I was following the people who were rushing over with the escorts, Jefferson widened his eyes and pointed.

“Oh! There, where the people are gathered…!”

“I had a feeling something like this would happen…”

I thought there would be a cliché like this at least once, but I didn’t expect it to happen on the last day.

Looking at where Jefferson was pointing, I could see Deon standing proudly in the very center of the crowd.

Next to him, Marie was looking around with a troubled expression.

Seeing the four men lying on the ground, it wasn’t hard to guess what had happened.

As I got closer, the conversations between the passersby became clearer.

“Wow, what on earth is going on?”

“What, didn’t you see? That woman over there beat them all up by herself.”

“What? That person who looks like a noble lady?”

From what I heard, one of the passersby seemed to have watched the whole thing from the beginning.

I intervened in the meantime.

The men who were talking loudly all turned to look at me at the same time.

“How did a fight break out over there?”

“Ah, well, those guys who fell probably said something to harass those two women. So, the lady with the parasol demanded an apology, and the argument escalated… In the blink of an eye, she knocked the men down. She just stabbed them with that parasol so fast you couldn’t even see it, and they just collapsed.”

I roughly guessed that was what happened.

That’s why I told them to take at least one or two escorts with them, but this happened before we left.

Actually, it wasn’t that serious of a problem.

Even if Marie had really been harassed, Deon had already beaten down all the people who started the trouble, so it ended as a minor incident.

As I pushed through the crowd, Deon, who had seen me, gave a wry smile and subtly avoided my gaze.

“Um… I didn’t intend to attract this much attention, but it turned out like this. I’m sorry.”

“I heard the story roughly. Did the guys rolling around here try to harass Marie?”

“It wasn’t directly like that, but they were just exchanging lewd jokes among themselves. I guess they thought we couldn’t understand English… But the content was too vulgar to just let it pass, so my head got heated.”

Deon stabbed the ground with his parasol as if he was embarrassed.

The heavy metallic sound hit my ears every time the parasol collided.

Could it be that they put steel on the end of the parasol?

Now I understood why the men who were lying down still couldn’t get up.

If they were beaten with that thing like a fencing sword and their bones weren’t broken, that would be strange.

“But if you, who even went to the actual battlefield, couldn’t control your anger, then they must have said something pretty bad, right? Did the lady hear it too, by any chance?”

“If she had, I would have made it impossible for them to function as men. Fortunately, the lady was too busy watching to hear it.”

“Is that so? Then that’s good. If you hear what they said, you’ll only get angrier, so I’ll decide not to listen either.”

Looking at them, there was even a person whose arms seemed to be broken, so this was enough of a price to pay for talking out of line.

It was also verified that Deon’s skills were enough to be entrusted with Marie’s safety, so let’s just consider it an accident that had some value.

In fact, Marie was rather excited, saying that she had an experience that was like something out of a knight’s tale.

Seeing her smiling brightly, saying that Deon’s skills were so cool, I couldn’t bring myself to punish them any further.

In the end, I left the cleanup to the soldiers who belatedly rushed over and headed to the ship returning to France.

Adams and Jefferson waved their hands enthusiastically, wishing for my safe arrival.

And just before the ship departed from the harbor.

I turned around and engraved the vast land of the New World in my eyes once more.

I’m just coming as a guest now and going back.

The next time I come, it will be completely different from now.

※※※

As soon as I returned to France, I received a summons to return to the Palace of Versailles immediately.

There was no time to relieve the fatigue of the trip.

That meant that the King’s interest was that great, so I sent Marie to Paris first to rest, and I entered Versailles with Deon.

-Louis Christian de France has repeatedly enhanced the prestige of France and perfectly carried out all the tasks entrusted to him…

In front of the nobles, I formally inherited the title of Count Lamarche.

Of course, the county also became my territory.

Louis XV even personally pinned a medal on my chest.

It was a tough journey, but I gained more than that, so it was a satisfying journey.

“You’ve worked hard again.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Louis XV looked around at the nobles lined up in the Hall of Mirrors and said.

“This weekend, a banquet will be held to welcome the Prince’s safe return. Attendance is voluntary, so those who have time should consider it.”

He’s subtly saying that if you don’t come, you’re dead.

After receiving the nobles’ promise to attend unconditionally, the King left the seat, and then a meeting of ministers began.

Whether it was a pre-arranged matter, all four ministers, the Director-General of Finances, and the Prime Minister were gathered in one place.

Because I and Deon were also attending this time, the atmosphere seemed a little different from usual.

Of course, I don’t know what the usual atmosphere is like.

“At the last meeting, no conclusion was reached regarding the validity of Prince Christian’s claim to reacquire the New World. This is because there was too little basis for judgment. Therefore, Christian, who made this proposal, and Deon, who received my order, have been investigating the current state of the colonies together. You have already read the report, so let’s gather opinions again.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I, Minister of the Navy, Maurepas, will speak first. After reviewing it in various ways, my conviction has become stronger than before. The only way for France to increase its national power is to develop colonies, and since the possibility of re-entering the New World has increased, we must accept it!”

That Maurepas would agree and come forward was a constant from the beginning.

Of course, this time, it wasn’t just active support, but even a sense of obsession that it had to be done.

“I’m not just saying this because of my position. If we simply develop new colonies, it will only benefit us. But if we occupy the New World, we will benefit and Britain will lose. Where else can we find a better situation than this?”

Prime Minister Maupeou and Choiseul, who had regained his position as Foreign Minister, nodded and agreed with his words, which subtly stimulated the sense of revenge.

“That’s right. I was a little cautious before, but after reading Prince’s report, I am convinced. We can incite the 13 colonies under British rule to become independent, and then we can stab into the gap.”

“Prince alone is not arguing this way, and Deon also wrote down similar contents. All 13 colonies are increasingly opposed to Britain. This trend is getting stronger over time, and there is a high possibility that it will ignite uncontrollably in a few years. Like this.”

As Maupeou and Choiseul took turns speaking, the Minister of the Interior and the Director-General of Finances, who were against it, clicked their tongues.

Since three people had already turned to support, the opposition was at a disadvantage in terms of numbers from the start.

However, the Director-General of Finances stubbornly refused to change his opinion.

“My opinion is the same as last time. The budget is insufficient.”

As soon as those words were finished, Maurepas rebuked him.

“Oh, we’re not saying we’re going to war right now. Isn’t that right, Prince?”

“Yes. I believe that we should have a preparation period of at least 3 to 4 years, even at the earliest.”

“Look. If the preparation period is that long, we can sufficiently distribute the budget and prepare for the future. That’s what the Director-General of Finances is there for. Not just to oppose unconditionally.”

Louis XV, sitting at the head of the table, asked.

“What does the Director-General of Finances think about this opinion?”

“Logically speaking, Britain will not stand still if they lose the New World colonies. We must also consider the possibility of an all-out war. Then a preparation period of only 3 or 4 years is not enough.”

“Does that mean that a lot of budget is needed?”

“Even if we prepare, we must prepare without being noticed by Britain. Then the available budget will naturally decrease.”

Then the Minister of the Interior, who was in charge of royal affairs and state-owned land, shouted loudly.

“The Director-General of Finances is right. We must strengthen the internal affairs even more now.”

Maurepas let out a hollow laugh as if he was dumbfounded.

“Did you read the report? If Britain holds onto that New World tightly, the difference between us will continue to widen. We have to make a bet here!”

“We cannot entrust such an important national matter to such a gamble.”

“It’s not a gamble, it’s a reasonable prediction!”

As the voices grew louder and the argument escalated, Louis XV turned his gaze to me.

“The story keeps going around in circles. Christian, tell us clearly what structure you are thinking of. Everyone must first be aware of that in order to have a more constructive discussion.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I got up from my seat and spread a huge map on the table.

Compared to modern ultra-precise maps, it was lacking, but even the maps of this era had a rough outline of the New World.

I drew a line with a quill from Louisiana to Newfoundland, located on the easternmost part of Canada.

“The land that our France will regain in the next war is west of the line I drew. All the territories of the old New France.”

Even Count Maurepas was speechless at the scale beyond expectations.

“In other words, that means…”

“Yes.”

I clearly declared the grand plan that I had been drawing since I went to the New World at this meeting.

“We will rebuild New France in the New World.”

{@PIC:505838}

The territory of New France before being beaten by the British and running away from the New World was roughly this size.